Motor Vehicles and Parts News
- China-made MG cars to go on sale
Date: 27-Aug-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
ICONIC MG brand cars will go on sale in China next month, priced between about US$23,000 and US$40,000, as its new Chinese owner moves to revive the failed British brand.
Nanjing Automobile (Group), which took control of the major assets of MG Rover in 2005, said its Nanjing MG Automotive unit will officially launch the MG 7 series through its nearly 50 dealers nationwide in September.
But the company already received 3,200 orders during a July road show in selected cities, a company official said.
'The MG brand is not well known in China, but many people who test-drove the car said they liked it,'the official said.
The long version of the MG 7 with a 2.5-liter engine will sell for 302,800 yuan (US$39,895) while three 1.8-liter models are priced between 171,600 yuan and 201,600 yuan, Nanjing MG Automotive said late Thursday.
In comparison, the 2.5-liter engine Roewe 750, developed by its bigger domestic rival SAIC Motor Corp, based on technology it acquired from the British firm, has a price tag between 231,800 and 276,800 yuan.
Global launch of the models, mostly in Europe and Commonwealth countries, which have many die-hard MG Rover fans, is scheduled before the end of the year, he added.
Lu Qiang, manager of the marketing and public relations department of the Nanjing MG unit, said the auto maker is targeting China's mid- to high-end market with 'very competitive?pricing.
The main rivals to the MG 7 are Volkswagen AG's Passat and Magotan models and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Camry series, he said.
Lu added that Nanjing MG aims to increase the number of MG car dealers in China to 100 by the end of this year from more than 40.
The parent groups of the two firms, Nanjing MG Automotive and SAIC Motor, are discussing a tie-up that would fold Nanjing Auto's assets into SAIC's parent.
The move, if it goes ahead as planned, would create a Chinese national auto company that could better compete with global rivals in the domestic market and eventually on a global basis, analysts said.
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